Powered Armour Droid Swarm
Designed personally by the Admiral himself, the prototype of the Powered Armour Droid Swarm is still being used as his personal armour. The PADS however has far more uses than just personal protection. The individual units that make up the PADS are only ten centimeters across and only a few centimeters thick. Each is hexagonal with three small manipulator legs located on each of the edges. Each unit has a sensor that allows them to see & hear their surroundings to a limited degree. By themselves the units have limited computation power & function on a series of extremely simple subroutines. The basic behavior of the unit more or less breaks down like so: if separated forcefully from the other units, it will seek to reattach itself; if ordered to stow itself, it will seek out other 'stowed' units & attach with them in the most compact form possible. The units are usually sold in sets of 20 with a compressed volume of roughly 5,200 cubic centimetres. The true strength of the PADS, however, is the fact that the units work together & can connect with a wide range of other equipment. Additionally, the more units are connected together, the 'smarter' the entire set becomes, quickly becoming greater than the sum of the parts. A single set can follow basic instructions (such as to scan an area & copy the data to a specific computer or to shoot anyone that enters an area). Three sets working together can interface with one simple piece of equipment (such as a sensor or rifle sized weapon). Five sets can follow complex instructions (such as to shoot anyone that doesn't say the password as entering an area). Eight sets can interface with one complex piece of machinery or several simple pieces. Twenty sets can interface with several complex pieces of machinery, can perform basic reasoning, & can learn from past experiences (such as not shooting someone that forgot the password, but has entered the area safely several times in the past). Forty or more sets can often out-think their owners & may offer alternative suggestions, though they will still follow orders. Memory wipes are ineffective & pointless, as the individual units are incapable of retaining the information, meaning that the only thing needed to cause a wipe of the droid's knowledge is to separate the individual units for a brief time (merely shutting down or ordering it to stow itself will not cause this effect). Beyond the standard appearance of the individual units, each PADS will assume a different layout from one mission to the next or even within the same mission. Some of the more common forms are as follows. A PADS that needs to cover ground quickly, but lacks other forms of transport will often assume a quadrupedal form. A PADS that is set to guard an area or carry a heavy load will often assume a six-legged form. A PADS that needs to move through tight areas will often assume a serpentine form. A PADS that needs to interact with organics on a regular basis will often assume a humanoid form. However, these forms are not programmed directly into the units & slightly or even massively different variants have bee observed. Common devices that are connected to the PADS are commlinks, vocabulators, various sensor systems, weapons, shields, repulsorlifts, probes, tools/instruments, claws/manipulators, translator units, sealed compartments, lights, & video/holo displays, however, nearly any piece of equipment can be modified to interface with a PADS. Finally, a PADS with four or more sets can function as a complex suit of armour by interfacing with a bodyglove or any armour that requires a bodyglove.